Here we go everyone! The third and final leg of this year’s Triple Crown races is setting up to be one of the better Belmont’s in recent memory. Many of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness runners return as these three year olds battle it out one more time; this time at a daunting 12 furlongs! Will Orb return to his Derby glory? Can Oxbow win on or near the lead again? Or will someone new have their nose first on the wire? Let’s take a look at this year’s Belmont!

Canterbury Park’s, and Minnesota’s very own, Angela Hermann possesses an unparalleled passion for racing which is very prevalent in the work that she does previewing races from the paddock of the Midwest oval. Just completing her first meet as the analyst at Hawthorne Race Course, I was very impressed with her knowledge of the sport as she gave the fans useful insight from the Cicero paddock. I spent a little time with Angela this week so we all could get to know her a little better.

As a new resident of the greater Richmond, VA area, I didn’t know a lot about Colonial Downs. That is until I talked to some key insiders at the track and found out how cool this summer boutique turf meet is going to be…

The rain held off, the track was fast, and on this relatively cool spring day in Baltimore, Oxbow pulled off the 15-1 Preakness upset!

Welcome to the most tubular (to the max) preview of the 2013 Preakness! We will take a radical and gnarly look at this year’s field! Like totally, let’s go!

It’s almost here! The first Saturday in May where millions upon millions of dollars are wagered on the biggest race of the year! As my friend Eric always says, there are many ways to slice up the handicapping pie. Are you a pace ‘capper, a trip ‘capper, a speed ‘capper, or do you just pick by name? Do you prefer gray horses or jockey silks colors? Well I’ll give you my analysis of this year’s Kentucky Derby – Dark Horse Style!

Despite what Dead Heat Debates’ Laura Pugh may say, Orb is the obvious choice to win the Kentucky Derby.

While there isn’t any possible chance that I’ve been to as many race tracks as Brian Zipse, I recently added two more to my list.

In my final act in covering Chicago racing on a full-time basis, here are my choices for the 2012 Illinois Champions! Let’s see how my selections compare to that of Mr. Zipse at the Track! The way the voting works here is that you provide your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd best selections for each category. Then points are awarded on a 5-3-1 basis and totaled up to see who wins. Finally you write-in your vote for Illinois horse of the year! Here we go…

I’m sure most of you remember the one hit wonder “Closing Time” by the band Semisonic, right? In that song there is a line that states, “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end…” Well very recently I took a new job in the Richmond, Virginia area and with that, my time as the Chicago Dark Horse has come to an end. However all is not lost…there is a new beginning…